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After actually experiencing 2-shot event itself, I could finally help or give some tips to people who are planning to go to 2-shots event in the future. Basically, these are all things I learn from going to the 2-shot event.

1. Give yourself time to rest.

If I could redo my day I would probably not have gone for 2 girls in each slot. Going for all the slots meaning I didn’t have enough time for rest. I didn’t have enough time to sit down or eat. And by the 6th slot I was already feeling the tiredness.

I spend most if not all of my day just queuing up and standing so my legs were giving out by the end of the day. If you think you could handle standing the whole day then go for it. If you know your own body, then give it a time to rest. Skip a slot or two.

Some info on slots for guide:
Slot 1: 09:00 – 10:30 (You must be in line by 10:00)
Slot 2: 10:30 – 12:00 (You must be in line by 11:30)
Slot 3: 12:00 – 13:30 (You must be in line by 13:00)
Slot 4: 13:30 – 15:00 (You must be in line by 14:30)
Slot 5: 15:00 – 16:30 (You must be in line by 16:00)
Slot 6: 16:30 – 18:00 (You must be in line by 17:30)
Slot 7: 18:30 – 20:00 (You must be in line by 19:30)
Slot 8: 20:00 – 21:30 (You must be in line by 21:00)

2. Pair popular members with unpopular members

Popular members will have more people lining up for them. I remember for Slot 6 Sayanee, I started lining up at around 6.45pm (I went to Kanon first) and it was almost 7.40pm when I actually got to her. That’s an hour to spend in line for a popular member. With only 1 and a half hours in each slot, imagine having Sayanee and Mayuyu in 1 slot. You might make it to both if you hurry, but I won’t take the chance.

3. 2 members max, 3 in a slot is cutting it close

Conversely, you could try having 3 semi-popular members in one slot. I tried doing Murashige, Nako, Murashige in slot 4 and was cutting it close with 5 minutes left in Murashige’s second round. That said, if you want to have as many members for 2-shot like me, don’t risk it. Stick it to 2-3 members per slot. And for a popular Kami-member, pair it with someone less popular.

4. Bid for popular members first

This is during the round applications. The rounds are open with first round you can only apply for 5 names. You want to go for the popular ones first because everyone else is doing that as well. I had 2-shots with Sasshi, Shimada, Yukachan, Tomiyoshi, Emili, Murashige, Nako, Sakura, Boss, Mio, Miku, Sayanee, Kanon, Tano and Chori. For the first round I applied for Sasshi twice, Sayanee, Sakura and Mio. I got all 5.

When the list of the girls appear, jot down the girls you want to have 2-shot with. Then, arrange them by popularity and apply for the most popular members first. If you don’t know how popular your favorite members are, Sousenkyo rankings are a good gauge of that. You don’t want to apply for your favorite members too late only to found out they have sold out their slot.

5. Bring food/water

Well, they have food and water but if you’re me and you have 2 girls in each slot, you won’t have time to queue up to buy food & water. I had a couple of onigiri and a bottle of water in my bag. It wasn’t much, but it was enough to get me going through the day.

And if you have friends who doesn’t have as many slots as you, you can always message them to line up for food for you. Muahaha.

6. Take note of the lanes

When you get into the hall, they have this huge list of names and a map in the middle of the hall. You want to take note, jot down in your book or even snap a picture so you can know which lane your members are at. It’s easy, and you don’t have to come back to the middle of the hall every time you want to see which next lane you should go to.

7. Before 2-shot

Get your tickets stamped! Bring your passport and your tickets and get it verified. The counter is located beside the entrance when I went. You also need the passport and tickets every time you go for a 2-shot. The flow is queue up for verification at each lane, show your passport & tickets, queue up again for the 2-shot, before you reach the member open the camera on your phone and remember to leave your belongings before you enter the booth. Once you show your ticket and your phone to the staff near the booth, you’re ready.

8. Powerbank

I can’t stressed how important this is. 2-shot is taken using your own phone so the last thing you want to happen is your phone running out of battery. Also, no powerbanks are allowed to still be attached to your phone during the 2-shot, I learned it the hard way. So make sure your phone is always charged and ready.

9. Plan your pose

I mostly just wing it on most of my poses but there were a few poses that I knew I wanted to do. Because they will 100% ask “What pose?” during the 2-shot. This is your chance to get the girl to do any pose that you desire (obviously not indecent poses). You can ask back the member what is THEIR favorite pose if you like as well if you don’t have any. Or you can continue the running joke and ask Mio to do a peace pose to compare with mine, Wayne’s and Souchan’s Mio peace pose.

10. Plan on what to say

Yeah, I wasn’t exactly sure if I would use advice this since I didn’t follow it at all. Or rather, when I did follow and planned what I wanted to say usually the reply was nothing I expected and the conversation strayed away from what I imagined.

But if you don’t know any Japanese, plan on a phrase that you want to say. For me my go-to phrase was, “Nice to meet you! I came from Malaysia!” (Hajimemashite, Mareshia kara kimashita!). It’s always nice to see the girl’s reaction and surprise especially if you’re a foreigner who came from faraway place.

In short, you don’t have to plan every single conversation. Stick to a phrase and let the conversation flow naturally from there. It’s not just a 2-shot. It’s also your chance to interact with your oshimen. Imagine that you only have 2 seconds to say the things you want to say, be clear. Be concise. Be flexible. And most importantly, enjoy the time.

We were suppose to get ready by 6.30am to head out to the train station so we can arrive at Tokyo Big Sight in time. However, due to nervousness I was up since 4am. I decided to walk around the park a bit to calm down this nervous ache I have in my gut. It’s the same nervous ache I would get before a very big exam or a very important interview. Every time there’s something life changing about to happen I get this painful bouts of stomach aches and my nerves gets all tingly. This 2-shot is the big reason why I made this trip, and the day was finally here.

By 5.30am, everyone was up and getting ready, while I double and triple check my tickets, my passport and my electronics. I think this was when I found out that yesterday night we were hit by a 4.8 magnitude earthquake. Which felt quite apt since we’re heading out to see the 48G girls today. By 6.30am, everyone was ready and we left our house.

At the train station we were approached by 2 foreigners asking questions about directions. It felt nice to be helping out people so early in the morning so we were feeling good.

My phone was being an idiot at this time as the battery kept depleting and it didn’t want to open the camera. While everybody was relaxed, I was struggling with my power banks, trying to keep the battery above 15%.

We reached the place right before 8am. Just in time to be in queue and one of the few first to get our tickets verified, something that is safe to do if you’re a foreigner.They will validate and compare each of your tickets and stamp it. Once stamped, you would find little problems to enter each lane, as I did. My name on the passport and the tickets was quite different, but since everything was stamped, I had no problems in each lane.

I walked around after validating my tickets, jotting down the number of the girls lane that I would be seeing and also looking around the sousenkyo posters.

My first member was Sasshi, and Souchan was with me. I followed his lead and in about a few minutes, I’m about to meet Sashihara Rino. Nervous was an understatement, and the fact that while we were lining up, the little girl in front of us kept staring at me didn’t help. I look different, I know that much. With Souchan or Wayne or the rest, they look like your typical gaijin (foreigner). I don’t look Japanese, nor do I look like your average gaijin. In fact, during the whole day, I didn’t think I met anyone who resembled me at all. So with the little girl giving me curious looks, I was scared I would be getting the same looks from the members as well.

Sasshi was a member who I meant to see for the longest time. We both have the same oshi in Morning Musume, Kamei Eri. And Eri has a famous pose she does in a skit, which is “Gazen Tsuyome”.

Most of the members I would just go with whatever poses they wanted, but Sasshi was one of the few that I knew what I wanted. I wanted to talk to her about Eririn. I wanted to tell her thanks about all the things she did with HKT48. I wanted to tell her I appreciate her. What I didn’t anticipated was how short the timing of the 2-shot would be. And how tongue tied I would become.

I couldn’t even finish my sentence but I was glad that Sasshi knew what I wanted. For her to recognize what shirt I was wearing (which was Eririn’s grad t-shirt) and for her to know the pose before I actually showed it was something that proved to me that she is truly a fan of Eririn. It was nice to actually get a few words in even though it was a short time. I went out of the booth with tears in my eyes because I was too happy. I was glad Souchan was there, I really needed a friend at that time. My next girl was Shimada Haruka, my AKB oshi.

I wanted to say a lot with Shimada. A LOT. I imagined our conversations in my head, going with I saw her in Jakarta, or just telling her I’m a huge fan from Malaysia, or I voted for her in Sousenkyo, or telling her I’m anticipating a Team K with her as captain, or even to say the gaijins behind me are my friends (Brad & Momo also applied to have a 2-shot with Shimada because of me). Let me tell you first, that none of that happened. Instead…

That was the worse tongue tied situation I had ever been. Ever. Queuing up for Shimada’s lane after Sasshi’s was a shock. I’ve always known or read about how a popular member could have you queue up for hours and nobody would be lining up for an unpopular member but to see it first hand, it just saddened me that there was no one in Shimada’s lane. I had 2 tickets for Shimada and used both at once but looking back, I wished I had done a loop and did it one at a time. I was so tongue tied I couldn’t get to say what I wanted to say. She was so kind, and beautiful, and when she praised my Japanese even though I’ve only uttered a sentence, I just lost all my train of thought. If I could have a do-over on my 2-shot session, I pick this one. As the day got by, I got so much better at conversing and managing my time during 2-shots, I wished I had met Shimada later during the day and not after I was overwhelmed after meeting Sasshi. She was the only one I regretted how our session went by. I was nervous, speechless and didn’t get to convey what I wanted to say originally.

2nd slot was up next and I got Sasshi again. I wanted to go with a funny pose this time and was thinking of explaining to Sasshi about a flip-the-table pose but got cut halfway in my sentence by her.

[※All conversation in Japanese]Sasshi: Hi!Me: Hi again!Sasshi: What pose?Me: I was thinking if we could do…Sasshi: You want to do a “he” (In Japanese the word he looks like this: へ) pose?Me: A what?Sasshi: Do this. *does the “he” pose*Me: Okay… *follows along**CLICKS*

Dammit Sasshi! Hahaha! She couldn’t even let me finish my sentence and I had to follow her flow. But the best part was after the photo was taken, we had a little handshake and this conversation happened.

[※All conversation in Japanese]Sasshi: Actually, who do you like?Me: Murashige!Sasshi: AHHH!!!! *points at me*Me:*laughs like crazy*

It was funny that she figured out that she wasn’t my oshi. I had so much fun going into Sasshi’s lane and I know why people go to her lane as well. She makes you feel comfortable, like you’re talking to a friend rather than an idol. My conversations with Sasshi was pleasant, and I felt at ease. It’s probably the reason why she has so many fans as well. She can make you feel that she’s close to you, and she does it well . It’s no wonder she’s at the top, she knows how to pander to the wota community and she gets the vote of the casual fanbase as well because of her likability. And in the voting race of popularity, likability can get you very far.

My next member is Akiyoshi Yuka from HKT48, and I waited for Wayne & Brad as we have the same slot as well. Brad was lining up for Mayuyu and is taking such a long time so we ditched him as we feared we couldn’t be in time for Yukachan. I was undecided between a funny or a cute pose from Yukachan but I went with funny in the end.

[※All conversation in Japanese]Me: Nice to meet you, I came from Malaysia.Yuka: Wow! Thank you! What pose?Me: I really like your Chori bird imitation.Yuka: Haha, it’s been a while since I did it.Me: *starts doing the bird pose*Yuka:*looks at me and laugh*Me: No good?Yuka: No, it’s perfect. I won’t lose. *Starts doing the bird pose**CLICKS*

I wanted a funny pose but I got a cute one. It’s such a win-win. My bird pose was ridiculous and I’m glad I don’t have to show it. I love that Yukachan was so into it and she looks cheerful, just how I imagined how she would be. It’s quite a while before Slot 3 starts so I meet up with the gang at the seats near the food corner. My next slot is Yamashita Emiri and Tomiyoshi Asuka from HKT48. Both are not popular members so I imagined the queue won’t be long. I made a pact with Souchan to meet up during Tomiyoshi’s slot as we had the same tickets.

Just as I figured there was little to no line at Emiri’s lane. In fact, I was the first one there and her first 2-shot of the day. After a while, a few more people started to line up after me and even though the line is short, it’s still longer than Shimada’s. Let me just start off that Emiri is the Kenkyuusei that got my attention from the start and I was excited to see her. I wished she had felt the same.

[※All conversation in Japanese]Me: Nice to meet you, I came from Malaysia!Emiri: Thank you.Staff: Excuse me, sorry your phone just turned off.Me: Sorry about that. *Takes phone from staff and tries to open the camera again*Emiri:…Me:*looks at Emiri* Sorry, my phone is giving problems. Haha.Emiri:…Staff: Okay, are you ready?Me: What pose do you recommend?Emiri:*starts silently holds up peace sign*Me:*starts silently doing peace sign as well**CLICKS*

Uh… that was awkward. I don’t know if she was scared of me (she even looks scared in the photo) or it was because I was her first 2-shot and she needed to warm up first… but I felt awkward after her 2-shot. Even the handshake after the 2-shot, she was unenthusiastic and her hand felt limp. I really want to give her the benefit of the doubt, justifying it on the fact that I was her first 2-shot, or she is new at this. But in the back of my head I can’t help to feel that she judged me on how I looked. So she felt scared or threatened, and I hate myself for making her feel that way. Nevertheless, I was so high on her before our 2-shot, but I left with a sour feeling in my mouth. Maybe it was best if I didn’t went to her lane at all.

I met up with Souchan and we got ready for Tomiyoshi. Souchan went first and I could overhear all their conversations since Tomiyoshi is so loud.

I just stood there, amazed. I knew that Tomiyoshi was Amina oshi, hence why Souchan went to her lane. But to recognized Souchan from a TV show that aired a year before? I was deeply impressed. My turn was next and I got excited.

[※All conversation in Japanese]Me: Nice to meet you, I came from Malaysia!Tomiyoshi: Oh my god!! Thank you!!! What pose do you like?Me: Tomiyoshi revolution!Tomiyoshi: Ehhhh, even in Malaysia you know about Tomiyoshi revolution?Me: Of course! *starts doing the pose*Tomiyoshi: Thank you!!!*CLICKS*

Tomiyoshi revolution really doesn’t translate well in 2-shot with tables, haha. This was the only 2-shot that I wished the stupid table wasn’t there. But she was so cheerful and happy I felt nice going to her lane after Emiri. Me and Souchan even gushed about how she remembered Souchan as Amina oshi and needless to say we were both very satisfied with her. Since Emiri & Tomiyoshi’s lane was so quick, me and Souchan decided to look around, and see if we spot Shinobu or any of the theater managers. We’ve always planned to make AIDOL more of a legit translator for AKB shows but after many unanswered emails, perhaps meeting the managers one-on-one would speed up the process. Alas, the managers were nowhere to be found so we head back to the seatings in the food area, where AIDOL people seem to have set up camp there.

Not just Tomiyoshi recognized Souchan, even more Japanese people and foreign fans alike recognized Wayne & Souchan. “Why did YOU come to Japan?” had more impact that I thought it had and the line to have a 2-shot with them was longer than Shimada’s. Either that’s a testament to their popularity or a testament to Shimada’s unpopularity. They were also giving out Sousenkyo coasters for every food you buy and I was buying a few but couldn’t seem to get the girls that I like. Until Momo suddenly called out my name and waving a coaster to me.

She didn’t even offered but I just straightaway hugged her and grabbed the Shige coaster from her hand. It was the exact coaster I needed as Shige’s slot is up next. And I was nervous. I was about to meet my Oshimen.

I queued up with Wayne and SHaihh from AIDOL’s chatroom. Learning from Shimada’s slot, I decided to use only 1 of my ticket then line up again to get another one. Wayne was up first and I could hear her excitement! She recognized Wayne from YOU and thanked him for coming to see her again. I was happy for Wayne and was excited for my turn.

[※All conversation in Japanese]Me: Nice to meet you, I came from Malaysia!Murashige: Thank you!!!Me: That guy before me was on TV, right?Murashige: Yes!! What pose do you like?Me: How about Murashige pose?Murashige: Okay!*CLICKS*

*Shake hands*Murashige: Thank you for coming!!Me: I’ll come again, I have another ticket.Murashige: I’LL BE WAITING!!!

I just came out grinning from ear to ear. She was all I imagined her to be. I tried to bait her to talk more by pointing out Wayne but I guess the script for the 2-shot is always, “Hi!” and “What pose?” for the girls because of the time constraint. As the day goes by, I got better and better at playing the conversation limit according to the time constraint but I felt good with Shige. She was also overjoyed when I said I was coming again and it makes me so happy to see her so cheerful. She was also the first one to make me think, “Damn. I wished this is a handshake event so I could talk to her longer.”

My next member was Nako. I was hesitating on either to line up for Shige again or go to Nako first, but I decided to go for Nako. Which felt like a huge mistake because her line was so long, I was scared that I would miss the time cut out for Shige’s lane. Since I was already lining up, I just stayed in Nako’s lane, just praying that the lane moves faster.

First of all, let me explain “Obake wo taosu guntai da!” which is a phrase made famous when Nako appeared on Ariyosi AKB Kyowakoku. She was telling a story of how she met a ghost and promptly yelled “Watashitachi wa obake wo taosu guntai da!” (We are the army that defeat ghosts)

It was a pose I wanted to try with Nako but poor girl was tired. She was exhausted. Just look at how tired she is in the 2-shot photo! She was there right beside Sasshi’s lane since morning and I remember watching her while lining up for Sasshi at 9am, she was so energetic then. It was 2pm when I saw her, she’s been doing nothing but 2-shots after 2-shots and her line has been relentlessly long, I felt it was too much for a 13-year old. She’s still a kid, which makes it funny when she pretended to know where Malaysia is when it was apparent on her face that she didn’t. If it was up to me I would order the rest of the people behind me to just go home and let the poor girl rest. But I was also part of the problem, as I was one of the ticket holder. I was happy that I got to meet Nako, but I felt bad at the same time. No kid should be subjected to this.

As I continue to mumble alone about the vicious idol world to myself, I ran back to Shige’s lane, with 10 minutes to spare before the lane closes. I got in just in the nick of time and was the second last person to see her for the slot.

[※All conversation in Japanese]Murashige: You really came back!Me: Haha, of course.Murashige: What pose?Me: Comeback! (I asked for 復活 pose which means comeback, also her theme for Sousenkyo this year)*CLICKS*

*Shake hands*Me: I’m voting for you this year.Murashige: Thank you!! Coming again?Me: Ah, no… that was my last ticket.Murashige: Well, thank you for coming!!Me: I had fun!Murashige: Me too!

Hee. 🙂

That was all I felt after meeting her. I was glad that I split up the tickets as I got to get more conversations with her. She kept her cheerfulness till the end of the session and both times meeting her was so great. Maybe it was because she was my oshi and I’m being biased, but I really enjoyed my time. It was only Slot 4, the day was only half over and I still have 4 more slots left but I was over the moon.

8 more girls to go and the tiredness begins to step in. I’ve been doing nothing but queuing up the whole day. When Kou bought food, we all acted like polite savages, politely decline the first time but devours the food once we got a bite. Water was the most crucial for me as I felt more thirsty than I was hungry. And I hate to go out to get water because my schedule was packed with girls and missing it would be a no-no. So there I went, queuing up again in thirst, hoping the day moves on quickly. Next up, HKT48’s Miyawaki Sakura.

[※All conversation in Japanese]Me: Hello! I came from Malaysia.Sakura: Wow, thank you! What pose?Me: This one, from “Sakura minna de tabeta“.Sakura: Okay.*CLICKS*

Okay, that might seem boring but we had a running joke in the Half48 chatroom that the pose of the song looks like someone is smoking weed. I was hoping she would be holding it much closer to her mouth tho. Dammit Sakura, you can’t even smoke pretend weed right. She was so cute in her Alice costume and it would have been a much funnier and ridiculous photo if she had gotten the pose right, hahaha. Oh well. Next up was HKT48’s Tanaka Natsumi aka Boss.

First of all, her “From where?” is so hilarious and thick that I didn’t even understand what she was saying. I thought she was saying some Japanese I didn’t know until it clicked to me that she was trying to converse in English with me. Second, I was imagining a much more smug doyagao from her but all I got was a Murashige pose instead, haha. She was funny and engaging. I love how instead of feeling embarrassed that I replied in Japanese, she sounded pissed instead, which I felt was so Boss of her. I expect nothing less.

Next up was HKT48’s Tomonaga Mio. I met up with Wayne since we both have the same slot. We decided to troll Mio and speak nothing but English with her since we know how salty she gets with foreigners, based on the variety shows that we watched of her. English was not her favourite subject, and I can’t wait to get me some salty and confused Mio.

[※All conversation in English]Me: Hello! I came from Malaysia!Mio: Thank you! What pose?Me: What pose do you like?Mio: Peace!Me: Okay!*CLICKS*

Well, that was unexpected. I went in expecting salty and confused Mio but she got me confused instead. She was nothing but lovely, even though I spoke nothing but English. And she tried her best speaking English as well. She went above and beyond from what I expected of her. I met up with Wayne and we compared shots and noticed that she did the peace sign with Wayne’s shot as well. Since Souchan’s Mio slot was up next we asked Souchan to do peace sign with Mio as well. After comparing our three shots, we concluded that Mio is a robot.

This was from 3 different photos. Such a cute robot, hahaha.

HKT48’s Tanaka Miku was up next.[※All conversation in Japanese]Me: Hello! I came from Malaysia!Miku: Thank you so much! What pose?Me: Let’s do Nako-chan’s “Obake wo taosu guntai da!”Miku: That pose sure is popular today.Me: Really? Haha.*CLICKS*

Again, I felt the same thing that I felt with Nako’s session. The poor girls are tired. And it shows. However, after having 2-shots with both Nako and Miku, it was apparent that Miku is the more professional of the two. While Nako embraces her child side more and acted playful and really show her tiredness, Miku was sitting up-straight, properly thanking me and gave a proper handshake on the way out. But she was still a kid.

I hate that I was part of the problem as well, and I vowed to get the girls in an earlier slot next time as the evening slot is too much. But would be getting the morning slot better? I was still contributing to their sales, and as long as they are the popular members, they are going to be subjected to long hours and more slots. As I talked myself through it, I concluded that subjecting these kids to long hours of 2-shots is just not right, but I didn’t come up with any proper solutions. It was a long standing tradition in idol world, and one gaijin is not going to be heard. Maybe my brain was also tired at this point onwards but even though I was feeling happy, something just felt wrong about this whole 2-shot thing.

I decided to shake the feeling off and meet up with the Ago Brothers, Rick & Brad, aka the Kimoto Kanon oshis.

My next 2 girls was SKE48’s Kimoto Kanon and NMB48’s Yamamoto Sayaka. I lined up early for Kanon because I know Sayanee’s lane is gonna be loooooong.

[※All conversation in Japanese]Me: Hello! I came from Malaysia!Kanon: Wow! Thank you!Me: I’m actually HKT48 oshi, so I want to thank you for being a concurrent in HKT48.Kanon: Thank you for your support, what pose do you like?Me: Any poses you recommend?Kanon: Let’s do “Gao“!Me: Okay.*CLICKS*

Kanon was a pleasure to talk with. Being the only SKE48 member that I took a 2-shot with today, it was typical of me to get the member that is also HKT48’s member as well, haha. I was glad that I got to say what I wanted to say and my Japanese is getting better as the day goes by as well. I always knew what to say but at this time I have the confidence to actually say it. My next girl was Sayanee. I remember asking Wayne what poses he wanted me to have with Sayanee, because we applied for the same slot for Sayanee but I won her and he lost. I was glad that he wanted me to take hengao (weird faces) with Sayanee because that is exactly what I wanted to do as well.

[※All conversation in Japanese]Me: Hello! I came from Malaysia!Sayanee: Wow! Thank you! What pose?Me: Will hengao be okay?Sayanee:*smiles* Sure.Me:*does my hengao*Sayanee:*looks at me and laughs* Nice hengao.*CLICKS*

Oh but the 2-shot didn’t end there. As I got up, Sayanee got up as well, shook my hands and proceeded to walk with me throughout my exit.

*Shake hands*Sayanee: Thank you so much for coming. All the way from Malaysia too!Me: I had so much fun. I watched your Another Sky episode yesterday!Sayanee: Really? Thank you for watching! How was it?Me: When you thought that expensive noodle was only 950 yen…Sayanee: Hahaha.Me: It was really funny.Sayanee: Thank you for coming.Me: I’ll be voting for you! Do your best in Sousenkyo!Sayanee: Thank you!

HANDS DOWN my favourite 2-shot of the day. Hands. Down. She was amazing from the moment I sat down and looked into my eyes asking for a pose. “Will hengao be okay?” and the kind smile she had when she said yes (probably because I was stumbling with my Japanese). Then stood up after the 2-shot and accompanied me to the exit while handshaking and chitchatting with me. It was really a Kami-level treatment of 2-shots. I hate to talk about it in terms of money but she really made me feel I had my money’s worth. It was easy to see why so many people were lining up for her since morning. Not only is she talented, funny and have the leadership skill to boot but she’s engaging and friendly to her fans as well. I had the second last slot of the day and I couldn’t even sense a hint of tiredness from Sayanee. She blew me away. I was feeling tired at the end of the day but was rejuvenated after meeting Sayanee. My next and last slot was AKB48’s Tano Yuka & Nakanishi Chiyori.

I’ve always had the IDGAF-vibe from Tano and it couldn’t be more apparent on that day. Her lane was quite far and she came in on a bicycle like a boss. I haven’t met her but I was already chuckling at the idea that she rode a bicycle just to come to her lane.

[※All conversation in Japanese]Me: Hello! I came from Malaysia!Tano: Thanks. What pose?Me:Doyagao?Tano: Sure!*CLICKS*

*Shake hands*Tano: Thanks for coming.Me: That was hilarious coming in here with a bicycle.Tano: This lane is too far!Me: I know right? Hahaha.Tano: Hahaha!

She seemed cold during the 2-shot but opened up when I joked about her bicycle. She acted the way how I expected her to be, cool with that hint of IDGAF. I was now getting a bit sad. The last girl is next, and that means my day was ending. I could have met up with Chori first but I decided to meet Tano first and end my day with Chori. I hung around the lane for quite a while, waiting for the people to disappear. I had the idea to be last person that she sees, as she’s my last person of the day. 20 minutes after the lane is open it seemed there was no one else queuing up for Chori so I head to her lane. (Right after I queued up, a group of 5 people started queuing up after me orz)

*Shake hands*Chori: Thank you for coming.Me: I’m HKT Oshi but I’ll support you in AKB as well.Chori: Thank you!

Ah, I don’t know what happen in the picture but I remember that she was very cheerful and energetic, haha. Seems it didn’t translate well in the picture. Maybe she was tired, as was I. I also wanted to ask her if she plans to come back to HKT but the staff was already pushing me away. As I walk away from the lane and towards the food area where all the AIDOL gang have set up camp, I felt a huge sense of relief. It was a very tiring day, but a happy one. I was glad that I set out to actually do this, to actually meet up with the idols that I like. I was walking along happily until I heard a girl scream.

I looked back, worried. A girl screaming during a 2-shot or handshake event was the last thing you want to hear. Right after, I realized what was going on. If it wasn’t because I was speechless I would be screaming as well. I was walking but now I found myself couldn’t even stand still. It was as if a titan had his hand all over Tokyo Big Sight and started shaking the whole building.